THE RIGHT TO FAMILY UNITY FOR BENEFICIARIES OF INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION. FAMILY SEPARATION, THE RED CROSS RESTORING FAMILY LINKS SERVICE AND FAMILY REUNIFICATION IN FRANCE

The importance of the family as the basic unity of society and the need to ensure its respect and protection have been recognized in many international and regional – namely European – human rights treaties. The right to family life and the inherent right to family unity are in fact fundamental human rights that apply to all human beings, regardless of their status, including in the refugee context. The study will try to understand the level of protection and effective enjoyment of this right for beneficiaries of international protection, specifically focusing at the national level on France. In particular, the analysis is structured around two interconnected issues: on one hand, family separation as a result of migration and the possibility of disruption of family links, in connection with the work of the Restoring Family Links (RFL) service of the International Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, and more specifically of the French Red Cross, to assist separated families to trace their missing relatives; on the other hand, legal protection and access to the right to family reunification in France. The aim of this work, which is inspired by my internship experience as assistant tracing officer at the RFL unit of the French Red Cross, is therefore to bring to the attention of the readers the importance of the family for beneficiaries of international protection and to discuss about the existing hurdles to the effective enjoyment of their essential right to family life and family unity, starting from the condition of being separated and/or losing contact with family members during migration and the struggles to trace missing relatives, to the difficulties and practical obstacles in being reunited through legal channels in a country of asylum, more precisely in France.